


Let's Make a Scene Together

by Actually_Felicity_Smoak



Category: EOS 10 (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Parent Trap AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-01-24 06:05:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18565450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Actually_Felicity_Smoak/pseuds/Actually_Felicity_Smoak
Summary: Single dads Ryan and David enroll their kids (Levi and Jane) in the same MMA club.





	1. Chapter 1

"Now remember, honey, you have just as much right to be here as anyone." 

"I know, dad."

"If anyone gives you a hard time, you --"

"Punch 'em in the nose!" Jane said enthusiastically, with matching pantomime. 

Ryan winced. He was proud of having such a strong, self-reliant daughter. He was. He had no desire to be the kind of parent who forced their kid into gender roles that didn't fit, and he'd fought hard for Jane's right to participate in sports leagues that matched her ability even when they would normally have been male-only. But sometimes he still wondered if he should be trying to tone Jane down a bit. "Right," he finally said. 

"You got it, dad. Don't worry. The E.O.S District 10 MMA club won't know what hit them." Jane bounced out of the car and entered the gym.

Ryan sighed as he put the car into gear again. "But speaking strictly of probabilities, they should usually bet that it was Jane Johns." He pulled out of the loading circle and went to go find a parking spot.

***

"They will regret the day they mocked my ambitions!"

David smiled. "I'm sure they will, Levi."

"Dad! I told you! Call me King Cobra!"

"And I told you," David repeated patiently, "They don't allow nicknames at this level of MMA. You'll have to wait a couple of years yet, Destroyer of Lesser Reptiles."

"Ooh! I like that! Perhaps I will use that instead!"

"Well like I said, you have another couple years to think about it."

David chuckled as his son went on describing his plans for his glorious cage-fighting career. As an American, and a classical artist with no visible means of support, he hadn't had much hope of winning the custody battle. But it turned out that EU courts were actually astonishingly willing to believe that members of a defunct aristocracy in a country that hadn't recognized dynastic power birthrights in over a century.... might not be the best possible parents. And when Arule Delatro Levithian III himself had stood up to testify on his plans to restore the glory of his family's name, well.... _even my ex-wife's lawyer agreed that maybe she shouldn't spend too much time with her son._

With full custody, David had been able to move back to America. The kind of child-support payments demanded of even defunct European aristocracy meant that he didn't strictly _have_ to work. But he wanted something to do with his days, and he wanted to teach Levi the value of honest work. So when he saw that the local tattoo parlor was for sale, he'd stopped in to inquire. David offered to pay a higher price if the proprietor would stick around for a few months and show him the ropes, and now he was the proud owner of a small business, putting his art skills to use in a way he'd never imagined. 

It was a good life, he reflected as he pulled into the loading circle. And if he was sometimes a little lonely, well... so were a lot of people. The existence of soulmates didn't solve every problem, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jane!" Ryan snapped. "No blood on the carpet!"

Jane froze mid-kick. "Daaad," she began.

"No. NO. We have talked about this. This shop is full of glass! And delicate plants! MMA practice happens OUTSIDE!"

"But dad --"

"No! Out!"

Jane grumbled her way out the back door of the flower shop. As the door closed behind her, she heard a scuffing sound in the back alley, coming from her right. She stretched, feigning ignorance. Then with a vicious war cry she pivoted, lunged, and pinned her assailant against the brick wall. 

"I say!" her assailant/victim objected, in a vaguely British accent. "Bad form. What happened to acknowledging your opponent? Where was the bowing? The handshake? The threats?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Bowing and handshakes are for scheduled matches," she said scornfully. "Not back-alley street fights."

"And the threats?"

Jane released her grip and stepped back. "I guess I should have threatened you some," she admitted. 

"Very well, I accept your apology." 

"I didn't apologize," she pointed out. Now that she had a better view, she recognized the kid. "You're from the MMA club. Levi, right?" 

"I prefer King Cobra," he said stiffly. 

"Is that your nickname?" 

"Of course! Or it will be. Once I'm past these ridiculous league limitations."

"I know!" Jane exclaimed. "I can't believe they only allow nicknames in leagues 1 and 2!"

"Ridiculous!" Levi agreed. "What will your nickname be?"

"I don't know. My dad suggested the Black Death, but I'm not really feeling it."

"I don't think my father really understands the importance of nicknames either," Levi said. "Still, a warrior such as yourself must have a title." He snapped his fingers. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"A title! I shall bestow you with a knighthood."

"Can you do that?" Jane asked skeptically. 

"Of course! I, Arule Delatro Levithian III, am descended from the proudest and most noble bloodlines in Europe! Even if my Earthly power is limited at the moment, my ability to recognize heroes is undiminished. Kneel--" he hesitated. "What's your name?" 

"Jane," she said, looking up from the concrete of the alleyway. "Jane Johns."

"Kneel, Jane Johns." Levi looked around a bit blankly, and finally tapped her on each shoulder with his fist. "And rise, Dame Jane Johns, first among the Arulian Warriors!"

"What's the Arulian Warriors?" Jane asked, getting to her feet.

"I don't know. I just made it up right now."

"Sweet." Jane looked around the alley. "Wanna fight?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Pinned ya!" Jane said triumphantly. 

"Yes yes, very well," Levi tapped her left thumb several times, the only part of her he could reach, and she released her hold. He rolled over and dusted himself off. 

"Give us a hand," he held out his own. Jane pulled him to his feet. "I believe it is also customary to offer the loser a drink," he continued grumpily. 

Jane hesitated. "Dad keeps fruit juice in the back of one of the flower fridges," she said. 

"That will do," Levi allowed graciously. 

Jane led the way around to the front of the shop -- the back door didn't have an outside handle, and she'd forgotten to prop it open -- and behind the counter to access the product fridges from the back side. 

"Jane? What are you doing?" 

"Staying hydrated, dad," she called back. 

"Oh. Good," he said vaguely. 

"Yep," she agreed cheerfully. She pushed open the door labeled "Employees only" and waved Levi through.

As she turned back around, an apple juice in each hand, she found Levi staring at her dad's desk. "What's up?" 

"Where did you get this photograph?" he demanded. 

"It's my dad's soulmate photo," she said. 

"His what?" 

"His soulmate photo. Don't your parents have one?" 

"Of course," Levi said. "But still... what is a soulmate photo?" 

"On your 16th birthday, if you have a soulmate, you get a copy of the first picture taken that includes both you and your soulmate. Most people get, like, prom photos or Instagram selfies or something, so it's pretty easy to tell who you should be looking for, but my dad's is just this crowd shot from some international expo a few years ago." Jane leaned over and pointed at a statuesque brunette. "That's my mom. They met at the expo and thought it was true love, but --" she shrugged, and stabbed her juice box with the accompanying plastic straw. 

When she looked back up, Levi was still staring. "King Cobra?" she asked uncertainly. "What's wrong?" 

"My father has this same photograph," Levi said. "And my mother is in it." 

"What? Where?" she demanded. Levi pointed to a woman standing on a balcony overlooking the crowd, wearing a white gown and a tiara. " _That's_ your mom?" she asked. 

"Of course. I have told you that I am of the nobility, have I not?" 

"Well yeah, but I didn't think you --" she broke off. "Wait. Your mother isn't here, is she?"

"Of course not. She has important affairs to attend to. You wouldn't expect her to follow her ex-husband across an ocean."

" _Ex_ husband?" Jane repeated. "So your parents are divorced too! Both our parents are divorced!! Do you know what that means?"

"Our generation will be emotionally scarred by declining marital standards since the elimination of the death penalty?" 

"No! Look. MY dad is in this photo. YOUR dad is in this photo. They both have the same soulmate photo. Our dads are soulmates!"

"Oh my!" Levi looked at the photo with an appraising eye. "Your logic is impeccable. We must inform them at once!"

"Not so fast." Jane grabbed him by the shirt collar, and plucked the picture frame out of his hands.

"Dame Johns?"

"Look, I don't know about you, but my dad would never believe me if I just burst in and announced something like this."

"It is true, he seems frequently to be skeptical of my deductive powers."

"SO we're gonna have to use wiles. Guile. Cunning!"

"Quite so! A plot! And such a plot! Newberry, South Carolina has never SEEN such a plot!"

"That's... probably true," Jane acknowledged. 

"So. How we shall do it?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright. The first thing a budding romance needs is a meet-cute."

"A what?"

"A meet-cute," Jane repeated.

"What is a meet cute?"

"What does it sound like? They have to meet, and it has to be cute. Honestly. Don't you read?"

"They have already met, have they not?"

"But it wasn't cute."

"But does that not preclude the possibility of a meet-cute?" Levi continued patiently. Then he gasped. "We must erase their memories!"

Jane hesitated. "It'll be fine. I mean they've met, but they haven't _met_ met. We just have to make sure their first real meeting is cute."

"Would it not be safer to erase their memories?" Levi pressed.

"Do you have a memory-zapper?" Jane asked. 

"No," Levi admitted.

"So we do the best we can with what we have. Now, I have a list of possible meet-cutes. We have to get one of these to happen." 

They leaned over the paper print-out together. Levi pointed out several of the lines. 

"Reaching for the same item at a store? Offering assistance in the building of a waffle log cabin? Oh! Spill orange juice on them and then invite them to change clothes at your apartment! Classic!"

"All of those require our dads to do something, though. If my dad chooses not to reach for an item, or doesn't happen to be clumsy, then there's nothing we can do to make it happen."

"True," Levi conceded. "Ooh! How about this one?"

"Person A works as a teller at a bank. Person B hands them a note asking them out. Person A thinks it's a robbery and calls the cops." Jane giggled. "That would be AMAZING!" She sighed. "But neither of our dads works at a bank."

"Oh dear. True. 'Person A patronizes Person B's business', perhaps? They are both business owners."

"That's true." Jane considered. "There's no WAY I can convince my dad to get a tattoo, though."

"I can convince my father to get a flower arrangement, I'm sure of it! My mother's birthday is coming up and --"

"Levi! Don't you thinking him walking into my dad's flower shop and picking out something for his _ex wife_ is kind of sending the wrong message?"

"Oh. Oh dear. Yes."

"This matchmaking is complicated," Jane complained. "I hope they appreciate what we go through for them."

"Perhaps it would best to stay simple," Levi said finally. "I saw a classical American film a few weeks ago entitled _The One Hundred and One Dalmatians_ , where the couple became entangled in their dogs' leashes."

"We don't have a dog," Jane said. 

"But they do have us," Levi said.

Jane grinned.


	5. Chapter 5

"Jane! Watch out!"

His daughter forged ahead, heedless of any obstacle. At the last moment she dodged oncoming traffic, but not by enough to allow Ryan to sidestep as well. Her hand, gripping his tightly, pulled him into the stranger at full-force, and Jane was whipped around behind them by the centripetal force. Ryan found himself nose-to-nose with another MMA parent, practically embracing each other as they struggled to keep a grip on their children's hands. 

He flinched back, embarrassed, and began to stumble, unable to get his balance while surrounded by the bodies of three other people. He would have fallen onto the concrete floor if the other parent hadn't let go of their kid to embrace Ryan in truth, keeping him on his feet. 

"Whoopsie!" the other man said, pausing another moment to make sure Ryan was stable before he let go. "You all right?" 

"Yessss," Ryan said slowly, checking for dislocated joints and pulled muscles with the expertise of someone who'd raised a daughter that caused both with alarming frequency. "Thank you. I am SO sorry."

"Nah, I think it was our fault," the other parent said. "Levi's not so good at watching where he's going."

"It was definitely not all your fault," Ryan insisted. "Jane practically dragged me right into you."

"Well anyway, no harm done. I'm David," he said, holding out his hand. 

"Ryan," he sighed. "Father of this miniature disaster-in-waiting." 

"She's good in the octogon, though," David commented.

Ryan smiled. "Yeah, she is. Now if only we could get her to limit the disasters to the MMA field..."

David laughed. "Well isn't that the dream of every parent?"

"I suppose so. Well, I guess we'd better be going."

"Nice to meet you," David said, as Ryan and Jane continued on their way


	6. Chapter 6

"It's not working. Why isn't it working?"

"It'll work," Jane said with a confidence she didn't feel. "It just takes a while, is all. We just need to make sure they spend more time together."

"More scheming! Oh goody!"

"Dad!" Jane called from the front of the shop. "I'm gonna go over the Levi's, OK?"

Her dad came out from the backroom, dusting pollen off his hands. "Who's Levi?"

"This is Levi." She elbowed him forward. "You met his dad at MMA practice last week, remember?"

"If by 'met' you mean, 'actually literally ran into', then yes, I do remember. How did Levi get here?"

"His dad's shop is across the alley," Jane explained. "We're gonna go hang out over there, alright?"

Her dad looked stern. "Have you checked with his dad about that?"

"I'm sure my father would be honored to welcome you to his realm," Levi put in.

For some reason, her father looked less than reassured by that.

"I'll call you when I need a ride?" Jane said quickly. 

"It's across the alley, Jane. You don't need a ride." Her dad turned back to the counter as the front doorbell rang. 

Jane snagged juice boxes on their way out. 

"That didn't work very well," Levi noted. 

Jane shrugged. "But I get to go play over at your dad's shop. So that's something, right?"


	7. Chapter 7

"No, Ma'am. I really don't recommend that for a wedding --" Ryan tried to keep his voice down, in deference to the rest of the parents in the stands at roller-derby practice, but his exasperation with the customer on the other end of the line was making it hard. "I understand that those are your colors but there are really more thematically appropriate -- yes -- yes of course I can do it. Yes. Yes, fine."

David looked over as the other parent, Jane's dad, snapped his antiquated flip-phone shut with an irritated jerk. David considered the situation -- should he admit he'd been eavesdropping? But his curiosity was too great. He slid two rows down towards the rink, to sit beside the man. "Problems?"

"Just work," Ryan sighed. "Some customer wanted to change her bouquet to petunias and yellow carnations."

"In a wedding bouquet??"

"I know, right?"

"Did you tell her that means --"

"I tried. She didn't want to hear it. Wait." Ryan's synapses finally kicked into gear as he realized who he was talking to. "You know floriography?"

"Not as well as you, I'm sure," David said modestly.

Ryan flushed lightly. It was a good look on him, David thought. He could imagine the light playing across -- he forced his thoughts back to reality as Ryan spoke. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to assume. I just didn't think that would be part of a tattoo artist's training."

"Well I didn't exactly take the standard route here," David laughed.

"So how did you get into it, then?"

"Honestly it's such a ridiculous story, even cutting it down to the bare minimum to make sense, it's still super-long and not worth your time."

"C'mon, it can't be that bad. What's the one-sentence version?"

David thought about it. "I was trained as a classical artist but had to take up tattooing to prevent my son from being raised by an aristocratic eugenicist."

Ryan blinked. "Um. OK. You..." He took a breath. "You were right."

David laughed. "It's pretty crazy, I know."

"So, um, classical artist?"

"Yeah, primarily oil painting. That's where I learned the floriography -- you need to be able to make sure you've got the right meaning in your still lifes."

"Yeah, I could see that being important, I guess."

David laughed. "One time, at the Convencion Internationale des Beaux-Arts, I saw someone who'd painted their patrons' portrait, but they had painted them with buttercups and monkshood."

He'd hoped to get at least an eyeroll out of Ryan -- maybe even a laugh -- but instead Ryan stared. As the staring and silence continued, David started to get uncomfortable. "Do I -- Do I have mustard on my shirt?" he asked plaintively when he could stand it no longer.

"No. No, I'm sorry." And to his surprise, Ryan blushed. "I just --" he took a breath. "You were at the Convencion Internationale des Beaux-Arts? What year?"

"Eighty-two," David said. "Why? Have you been?"

"Yeah. In '82, actually." Ryan shook his head. "Met my ex-wife there. Actually."

"You did those flower arrangements?" David asked in surprise.

"I wasn't the only florist there. But I did all the ones in the main hall."

"Those were amazing!"

"Oh come on. You do not remember the details of a bunch of flower arrangements from fifteen years ago."

"OK, no." David grinned. "I was hoping if I flattered you enough, you'd agree to come have a drink with me some night after MMA practice."

Ryan blushed again. It was _definitely_ a good look on him, David thought.

"Did you just...?" Ryan trailed off. David arched an eyebrow. "A drink like... a date? A date-drink? Did you just flirt with me?"

"I'm sure trying to. Is it working?"

"Uh." Ryan felt completely flustered; he couldn't get his brain in order. "Yes," he finally managed. "I would love to get a drink."


	8. Post-Credits Scene

David paused in unlocking his front door. "Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

"No, no." Ryan said. He cleared his throat. "I mean, the sitter's paid up until 10, so...."

"That's not what I mean." David took his hand. "You seem really nervous. If I'm going too fast for you --"

"Oh, no. That's just me. Nervous, I mean. Awkward --" Ryan broke off and hid his face with one hand. 

David leaned over to kiss him. "It's cute on you," He said. Ryan blushed, and David enjoyed the sight as he turned back to unlock his door. He opened it with a flourish, and bowed Ryan through. 

Ryan looked around as he entered the hallway. Then David flipped on the lightswitch, and Ryan froze. David followed his gaze. _Oh_. Most of the art in his house was his own, of course, and this one.... _I forgot about that._

"Is that --" Ryan began.

"A still life of the flower arrangements from the _Convencion des Beaux-Artes_ 15 years ago? Uh. Yeah."

Ryan turned around. His eyes were very blue, David noticed. "You painted one of my flower arrangements." 

David cleared his throat. "Yeah." 

Ryan took a step closer. _Very_ blue. "And hung it in your front hallway."

David swallowed. "Yes."

The next step brought them practically nose-to-nose. "You told me you didn't remember those flower arrangements."

"I lied," David whispered.

The rest of his explanation was muffled by the kiss.


End file.
